ATP changes time violation penalty

The ATP Board of Directors has approved a rule change whereby a time violation between points (25 seconds) will be penalized in the first instance with a warning, and the second and all subsequent violations by a fault for the server or a point penalty for the receiver. Currently, the rule is a warning and then point penalty for both the server or receiver.

“There’s been a lot of discussion about the amount of time taken between points,” said ATP Executive Chairman and President Brad Drewett. “We believe this modification will give officials a useful tool and allow for more consistent enforcement of the current time violation rule. Although this change will not materially reduce the length of a match, we believe it should have a positive impact on the flow of the match.”

The ATP Board also approved a trial elimination of the service let on the ATP Challenger Tour only, for the first three months of 2013.

“We’re certainly not ready yet to eliminate the service let, but believe a trial at the ATP Challenger level will be a good way to test this initiative in a competitive environment and get feedback from players and the public before deciding if it could be adapted more broadly,” Drewett said.